My High Chair Brings All The Kids to the Table

We recently upgraded our dining room table. This is our Forever Table; her name is Hildegard, and she and I are deeply in love. She has a massive reclaimed wood top that is finished in a smooth epoxy, so she’s blissfully easy to wipe clean. I waited months for her. And the whole time, I daydreamed about securing a guzzie+Guss Perch high chair onto her rustic-hewn edge and feeding my baby something involving quinoa, as my other two little angels rejoiced in the streamlined simplicity of modern dining.

Parts of that daydream still elude me, but dammit, that Perch is every bit as awesome as I’d hoped. Having reviewed it last year (which involved convincing my uncontainable middle child to experiment with the concept of sitting down to eat), I already knew that it was a fun and cool-looking seat, with a dozen different fabric colours to choose from (my dining room chairs are all different colours of the rainbow, but I went with salt-and-pepper for the Perch, because there’s something hilarious about baby gear that’s the colour of a business suit). But now, having used it every day for several weeks, I can vouch for its functionality. This. Chair. Is. Awesome.

I don’t know if it’s the fact that she’s right up at the table with the big kids, or if it’s just that it’s super comfy, but she’s remarkably happy perched in the Perch

Forget the fact that it’s portable (well, no, don’t forget that, that’s actually incredibly useful. You can un-clamp it and re-clamp it really easily, and take it anywhere in the carry bag). This chair also really stays put. If the idea of a floating high chair sounds weird to you, I understand. I sure don’t want to put my squirmy 25-pound baby in anything that isn’t 100% secure. But once you’ve got those attachments tightened, the Perch ain’t goin’ nowhere.

And speaking of squirmy—Emily doesn’t fight the Perch the way she does with some other seats. I don’t know if it’s the fact that she’s right up at the table with the big kids, or if it’s just that it’s super comfy, but she’s remarkably happy perched in the Perch. She’s like a very large pigeon. Of course, like a pigeon, Emily creates a considerable mess of crumbs on the floor at every meal. But with no high chair legs to work around, sweeping up underneath her is ridiculously easy. I am so lazy—I will tell you that right now. Things need to be easy. Things need to be wipeable, removable, washable, durable. The Perch is all of those. You know that feeling when your high chair is so gunked up that you’re like “I either need to power-wash this thing, or throw it out”? Well, you can put the seat in the washing machine. Yaaaas.

Even Hildegard likes it. She’s like a horse with a saddle. I put the guzzie+Guss silicone placemat thingy on to protect her, and she wears the whole thing with pride. Giddyup.

For more info on the Perch and to get one yourself visit the Guzzie+Guss website.

Alanna Schiffer

Alanna Schiffer runs the exceedingly popular PLN Facebook group. She is also a writer who lives in Toronto with her husband and three kids, Android, Panda and Emily. She enjoys sushi and unicorns.